ARK WROUGHT-IRONWORK LTD
💤Zombieactive
04927908 · ltd · incorporated 2003-10-09
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2025
Net worth
£143.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
55 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £143,272
Net assets shrinking
Down £2,577 YoY
Cash YoY
-21%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£148k
↓ 21% YoY
Net Worth
£143k
↓ 1.8% YoY
Current Assets
£178k
↓ 9.0% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-10-31 | 2024-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £146.1k | £149.0k |
| Current assets | £178.1k | £195.8k |
| Cash | £148.3k | £187.2k |
| Debtors | £11.8k | £8.6k |
| Net assets | £143.3k | £145.8k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
1 signal detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-19📄capital-alter-shares-subdivisioncapital · SH02
- 2022-05-27📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2022-05-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-29📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-06-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2003-10-14➖FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-10-14➖FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-10-09🏢Company incorporatedAs ARK WROUGHT-IRONWORK LTD
- 2003-10-09➕KEATES, Yvonne Jane appointedsecretary
- 2003-10-09➕KEATES, Arthur William appointeddirector
- 2003-10-09➕FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-10-09➕FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
93/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Arthur William Keates Individual · British · DOB 06/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · SL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANGELNUMBERS LTD→ 13273332 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ARCFORCE WELDING LTD→ 16511611 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AREMBE LIMITED→ 04268878 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| ASKETT & ENGLISH LTD→ 07523435 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ASTON GLASS LIMITED→ 11994350 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ATLAS PACKING SERVICES LIMITED→ 03257338 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| ATTICUS LINE LIMITED→ 15670507 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ATYAB TAMIM LIMITED→ 15540161 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AUDERE PURE LIMITED→ 17002372 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AURA QUALITY STONE LTD→ 14496510 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AUTO TECH CAR & VAN REPAIR LTD→ 16180385 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AUTO VILLAGE SLOUGH LTD→ 11749311 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
7 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →🔒Advanced scoring suite
Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2003-10-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25990 — SIC 25990
Registered office
11 Castle Hill
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 4AA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-23
Last: 2025-10-09
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
KEATES, Yvonne Jane→
Activesecretary · appointed 2003-10-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KEATES, Arthur William→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2003-10-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-10-09 · resigned 2003-10-14
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-10-09 · resigned 2003-10-14
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (55 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-06-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-03-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-06-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-04
capital-alter-shares-subdivision
capital · SH02
2022-10-19
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2022-05-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-05-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-07-31